Category: Jews

I hate Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu

I am Jewish but not a Zionist. I grew up in Philadelphia. During the Vietnam War I was stationed in Thailand. I was in the Air Force working in a supply station. My father and his brother both fought in World War II. So our family is loyal to this country. As best as I can determine everyone in my family is a Democrat.

The State of Israel was recognized by Democratic President Harry Truman in 1948. Democratic President John F. Kennedy in 1962 sold Israel a major weapon system, the Hawk anti-aircraft missile.

Tropes questioning the loyalty of Jews has been a historic reality. It wasn’t just Hitler and the Nazis. Jews in the Jewish Diaspora were accused of dual loyalty by the Romans in the 1st century.

Donald Trump’s accusations against American Jews is just another example of the same anti-Semitic words of others who hate Jews for no other reason than they need a foil or fear of everyone who is not a white Christian.

Benjamin Netenyahu played into Donald Trump’s hands for political reasons. His decision to bar two congresswomen from Israel will harm American Jews. For me, Israel is no friend to American Jews or Jews anywhere else in the world. The crowd that chanted “Jews will not replace us” at a neo-Nazis rallying in Charlottesville, Virginia now have one more reason to parade and attack Jews.

David Bancroft

Mishigas and other Yiddish words that are now a part of the Spoken English language

FERSHTAY?: Do you understand?  Most of the time I didn’t.

My parents were fluent in Yiddish.  They would talk to each other in that language but never to my sister and me.  The consequence is that I learned a few words but not enough to hold a conversation.  With the passing of time I have come to realize that many of those words are now part of American English.

Most recently it was brought to my attention when a Businessweek article about a Japanese business man was referred to as a Maven in his area of expertise on advising his clients on investments. Maven is a Yiddish word for expert.  How many of you knew that?

I used the word Mishigas to describe Washington today.  It means craziness in Yiddish.

What other Yiddish words are now part of the American English vocabulary?

Chutzpah – Extreme nerve or arrogance; confidence with a negative connotation. “Donald Trump’s campaign is all chutzpah.” Or Donald Trump has lots of Chutzpah.

Spritz or Shpritz – comes from Yiddish meaning a spray

Klutz – Directly translates to “block of wood”; commonly used in English to describe a particularly clumsy person.

Schlep – To carry something heavy, or to make a long and tedious journey. “I schlepped all the way to class, only to find out that it was cancelled.”

Kvetch – To complain or whine. “We know that you have a lot of work to do, but quit kvetching about it.”

Schmooze – If you schmooze you  Chat, make small talk, converse about nothing in particular.

Mensch – A person of integrity and honor.

Nosh – To eat or nibble, as in “I’d like something to nosh on before dinner.”

Spiel – a sale pitch or an otherwise (un)persuasive speech. Alternatively spelled shpiel, this comes from the German word spiel, meaning “play”.

Oy Vey – exclamation of dismay, exasperation, or surprise. “Oy, Jessica is such a pretty and smart girl. Why can’t she find a husband already?”

Putz – A jerk, or a self-made fool, but this word literally means penis.

Shmatte – A rag or old garment.

Tookis (tuchis) – Butt, behind, sometimes shortened to tush or tushy.

Care to add to this list?

This is Chutzpah! This is Hypocrisy!

If you don’t know the meaning of the word you will have to Google it.

From Dana Milbank’s column March 26, 2019 in the Washington Post. He attended the AIPC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) conference in Washington, D.C.

On Monday, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) literally read from Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” on the House floor and borrowed Hitler’s “big lie” allegation against Jews to use on Democrats. “Unconscionable,” said the Anti-Defamation League. But Republicans, and Netanyahu, said nothing.

Tuesday was the 40th anniversary of the signing of the historic Camp David Accords. But the Israeli leader didn’t mention this, either, instead delivering division to a group that has embraced his (and Trump’s) nationalist policies.

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, the largest branch of American Judaism, noticed that the AIPAC crowd had “beyond a doubt” become mostly pro-Trump conservatives, not the cross section of Israel supporters that AIPAC once drew. The rhetoric fit the room. “To suggest anti-Semitism is part of the Democratic Party and liberal part of the spectrum and not also part of Republican leaders’ discourse .

The thing that has kept Israel safe over the decades is rock-solid bipartisan support.

Consider the hypocrisy:
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) issued (then deleted) a tweet targeting three wealthy Jews: “We cannot allow [George] Soros, [Tom] Steyer and [Michael R.] Bloomberg to BUY this election! But at AIPAC, McCarthy denounced anti-Semitic language on the “floors of Congress” — an apparent reference to Omar — and said he’d be “lying” to say Democrats are as opposed to anti-Semitism as Republicans.

Vice President Pence once declared that “I know of no synagogues in my district” (there were two) and, after the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre, attended a memorial with a Jews-for-Jesus Christian rabbi. But at AIPAC, he said Democrats have “been co-opted by people who promote rank anti-Semitic rhetoric.”

President Trump, of course, said there “were very fine people” among the neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, told Jews they wouldn’t support him “because I don’t want your money,” tweeted an image of a Star of David atop a pile of cash, used anti-Semitic tropes in an ad with photos of prominent Jews, and often denounces “globalists” such as Soros — among many other offenses. But he calls the Democrats “anti-Jewish.”

And here at AIPAC, his appointees attacked Democrats. “We will not do this for the Benjamins,” David Friedman, Trump’s ambassador to Israel, said, informing the crowd that Trump “deserves” an extended ovation.

Teen party with Nazi salutes but the anti-Semitism is far more pervasive than those parties

A series of photos featuring a group of teenagers crowded around a swastika made of red plastic cups – laughing, toasting and Sieg Heiling over the Nazi symbol – is shaking swaths of predominantly white and affluent communities across Orange County, Calif., where at least some of the teens are enrolled in high school.

Freshman Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar is once again facing criticism and charges of anti-Semitism from her own party’s leadership for comments about the political influence of Israel. She is supported by another Muslim, Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.). Ocasio-Cortez together with fellow Democrats Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, have called themselves a “squad” in social media posts and have publicly come to each other’s defense.

Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren each came to the defense of Rep. Ilhan Omar on Wednesday for remarks that critics have called anti-Semitic.

Meghan McCain gets emotional on ‘The View’ “With the rise of anti-Semitism in this country, is it more important to defend party politics, or is it more important to defend anti-Semitism?” she asked the rest of the panel, referring to Omar, a Democrat.

From USA Today “The now trendy Democratic Socialists of America have even called for Israel to be eliminated.”

Hate is in the air!

Jewish people are major contributors to the Democratic Party but maybe not any more.

Why I love quirky and wonderful Canter’s Deli

When we visited Toronto Canada last year we went to Caplansky’s Jewish Deli and I mentioned Canter’s.  Caplansky’s does not even come close to Canter’s. The person behind the counter knew all about Canter’s as well as Langer’s.  So Canter’s is at least known around North America.  It might be world famous.

Los Angeles Times By Evan Kleiman

Jul 19, 2018

In this age of highly curated artisanal food and free-range Scandinavian design, it’s easy to pick apart an institution like Canter’s. But I’ve been eating there since forever and I love it.

Canter’s provides the same level of comfort as lying around on the couch in your pj’s. It feels like home — if home is the dynamic L.A. life set in a slice of well- loved vintage.

A colleague from Northern California recently asked me if Canter’s makes its own gefilte fish, and I burst out laughing. That’s not the point of Canter’s. It’s for when you want a wide swath of deli menu items but you want to put on zero airs. You can practically show up in your night clothes and no one blinks. For me, that lack of pretense is exactly the point. I know what I’m going to get — and what I’m not going to get.

The deli’s appeal is its consistency and its embrace of all who come. Every day, a parade of people of all ages and type walks through the front doors. Goths, punks, hipsters, grandchildren in quantity, Supreme heads, hippies, middle-aged writers still waiting for their first break, seniors eking out a day’s meal on Social Security.

 Then there are my faves to watch: kids in their early 20s, accompanied by their bewildered visiting parents. For a moment, I see the place through their eyes, the freewheeling mix of the clientele that makes Canter’s what it is. It delights me that I live in a town where there is still a place for strange.

Oh, the waitresses and waiters are the best, beloved to the “regulahs” — as some call us. When my mom had her needlepoint store, Petit Point Junction on Robertson Boulevard, she would start everyday at Canter’s. Jeannie, who worked there for more than 50 years, would greet her with a “Hi, hon.” “How ya doing, babe?” my mom would respond. This went on for more than 20 years.

 When the ceiling collapsed after a severe rainstorm, Jeannie was on the sidewalk making sure no one got hurt walking through construction debris. When the new ceiling turned out to be a fake stained glass evocation of fall in New England, it added yet another layer of weirdness to an already quirky place.

 Everyone is greeted like they are family and handed a menu that requires two hands and considerable focus to wade through. But we regulahs know what we want before we hit the door, and what a comfort that is.

Weekday lunch, it’s a tuna melt with fries. Monday early dinner, a bowl of barley bean soup. Leisurely breakfast, the lox and bagel plate. Sure, it’s not the double-smoked lox at Wexler’s, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s Canter’s. It’s more than what’s on the plate.

Kleiman ran Angeli Caffe for 27 years. She’s the longtime host of KCRW-FM’s “Good Food” and a member of the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America.

Anti-Semitism is alive and well in Germany

Wars won do not end hatred!

Just because WWII ended, hatred of Jews didn’t end.  Kristallnacht, literally, , literally, “Night of Crystal,” is often referred to as the “Night of Broken Glass.” The name refers to the wave of violent anti-Jewish pogroms which took place on November 9 and 10, 1938 in Germany. That was well before the Holocaust. The wave of violence took place throughout Germany as they annexed Austria and areas of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia.

This past week a nationwide controversy erupted in Germany over a taboo-breaking rap duo that won one of the country’s most important music industry awards for a best selling album and song that included lyrics that made references to the Holocaust and Nazi concentration camp prisoners. Then just three days later German police said that they had launched an investigation after two men wearing Jewish skullcaps were attacked and insulted in Berlin. It was an incident that comes amid concern that anti-Semitism could be on the rise in Germany.

What is really curious is the growing Jewish population in Germany.

When Germany was reunited in 1990, there were 28,000 Jews in the country. Since then, the number has more trebled to 107,000, largely due to an influx from Eastern Europe, after Germany passed the “Quota Law”. Enforced until 2004, this gave those from the former Soviet Union who could prove they were Jewish, or had a Jewish parent, the right to settle. Germany now has now the third largest Jewish population in Western Europe after Britain and France.  The New York Times reported on September 27, 2017 that Israelis are also moving to Germany.

Jews must be suffering some kind of amnesia.

Rivlin

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin came to the Jewish Federations’ General Assembly in Los Angeles to plead for Jewish unity. He harped on Israel’s growth, its innovations, and its place as a home for all Jews. Emphasising that we can do everything better if we do it together.

President Rivlin lamented the Western Wall’s transformation into “a symbol of division and disagreement” between Israel and the Diaspora, and expressed hope that understandings would soon be reached on egalitarian prayer at the holy site.

For those of you who have not been following the issue, the question is about prayers at the Western (or wailing) Wall in Jerusalem. Women are kept separate from men and they cannot pray together. The issue has become a symbol of the difference in religious beliefs of Israelis versus most Jews spread throughout the world (Diaspora).

The problem, as I see it, is that Israel is controlled by the ultra-orthodox who are a political party. Apparently it is a party that has enough voters that can sway the governing of their country. Of course, as in any democratic country, they are free to choose the kind of society they live in. It just is not the kind social order that most American and Canadian Jews want.

North American Jews believe in a social order that is an anathema to the religious people of Israel.

Reuven Rivlin’s purpose in making this speech was his plea for North American Jewish support. It is all about money and political support. After all Israel does not have many friends. The loss of North American Jews would be significant.

Rivlin’s plea did not come with any offers of inclusion of North American Jews. Both American and Canadian Jews are obviously happy with their lives. Is there a reason North American Jews should treat Israel any differently than Americans of Italian decent should treat Italy or those of Irish decent should view Ireland?

As a child I accompanied my grandmother to Saturday morning services.  I was either eight or nine years old.  To my dismay we sat on a mezzanine. Women were required to sit separately from the men and were excluded from the ceremony.  Even at that age I concluded that orthodox Judaism was living in a medieval past. Sorry Grandma.

Jewish Boycott and the Muslims

Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

A while ago, Iran’s Supreme Leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged the Muslim World to boycott anything and everything that originates with the Jewish people.

In response, Meyer M. Treinkman, a Jewish pharmacist, out of the kindness of his heart, offered to assist them in their boycott as follows:

“Any Muslim who has Syphilis must not be cured by Salvarsan discovered by a Jew, Dr. Ehrlich. He should not even try to find out whether he has Syphilis, because the Wasserman Test is the discovery of a Jew. If a Muslim suspects that he has Gonorrhoea, he must not seek diagnosis, because he will be using the method of a Jew named Neissner.

“A Muslim who has heart disease must not use Digitalis, a discovery by a Jew, Ludwig Traube.

Should he suffer with a toothache, he must not use Novocaine, a discovery of the Jews, Widal and Weil.

If a Muslim has Diabetes, he must not use Insulin, the result of research by Minkowsky, a Jew.

If one has a headache, he must shun Pyramidon and Antypyrin, due to the Jews, Spiro and Ellege.

Muslims with convulsions must put up with them because it was a Jew, Oscar Leibreich, who proposed the use of Chloral Hydrate. Arabs must do likewise with their psychic ailments because Freud, father of psychoanalysis, was a Jew.

Should a Muslim child get Diphtheria, he must refrain from the “Schick” reaction which was invented by the Jew, Bella Schick.

“Muslims should be ready to die in great numbers and must not permit treatment of ear and brain damage, work of Nobel Prize winner, Robert Baram.

They should continue to die or remain crippled by Infantile Paralysis because the discoverer of the anti-polio vaccine is a Jew, Jonas Salk.

“Muslims must refuse to use Streptomycin and continue to die of Tuberculosis because a Jew, Zalman Waxman, invented the wonder drug against this killing disease.

Muslim doctors must discard all discoveries and improvements by dermatologist Judas Sehn Benedict, or the lung specialist, Frawnkel, and of many other world renowned Jewish scientists and medical experts.

“In short, good and loyal Muslims properly and fittingly should remain afflicted with Syphilis, Gonorrhoea, Heart Disease, Headaches, Typhus, Diabetes, Mental Disorders, Polio, Convulsions and Tuberculosis and be proud to obey the Islamic boycott.”

What medical contributions to the world have the Muslims made?

David Bancroft